Research Update
KTVU Special Report: New High-Tech Sensors May Predict Bridge Fatigue

KTVU recently
broadcast a "SPECIAL
REPORT: New High-Tech Sensors May Predict Bridge Fatigue," which
provides an update to ongoing research at U-M to ensure the safety of
America's bridges and infrastructure. The technology is expected to provide
a warning when portions of a bridge begin to experience dangerous levels of
stress.

As stated in the news report, "the immediate goal is to deploy cheap,
wireless sensors on every major U.S. bridge. These sensors can make complex
measurements without hundreds of yards of cable. Some are even powered by
vibration."

"It's a very low-cost prototype costing about a $100 per sensing node.
You can see it has an antenna for its wireless sensing capabilities," said
Jerry Lynch, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of EECS.

Lynch is PI for this major project funded by the government, and partners
with several faculty in EECS for the wireless sensing, communication, energy
harvesting, sensor, and antenna technology. These EECS faculty include Mike
Flynn, Mingyan Liu, Amir Mortazawi, Khalil Najafi, Atul Prakash, and Dennis
Sylvester. [Read
additional information about each faculty member's contribution to the
project]

Prakash states, "What we are trying to do is to create the technology to
monitor the health of America's bridges, just as in a home, one may use
sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, or its security. The technical
challenges are much larger in modeling, collection, storage, and analysis of
bridge sensor data since the data has to be correlated with bridge models,
traffic, weather, and historical data over long periods of time."

The technology is expected to be ready for commercialization in about
five years, and is already being tested on the Carquinez Bridge in
California.

An Interdisciplinary Approach that Serves an Interconnected World

This $19-million project is an exciting and instructive example of how
EECS is making significant impact on large-scale technical and societal
challenges through interdisciplinary research and development. The smart
bridge project brings together 14 researchers from within the College of
Engineering and the U-M Transportation Research Institute. In addition,
engineers at five private firms in New York, California, and Michigan are
key team members.

The project is funded by nearly $9 million from the National Institute of
Standards and Technology's (NIST) Technology Innovation Program (TIP). The
remaining funding comes from cost-sharing among the entities involved and
the Michigan Department of Transportation. MDOT has offered unfettered
access to state bridges to serve as high-visibility test-beds showcasing the
project technology.